As a writer, you are supposed to write about what you know, and while it’s more than expected to use your own life experiences as part of your stories, some people might cross that invisible line between using your past as inspiration, and downright exploiting it at expense of those who you grew up with.
And if you happen to cross that line, don’t complain when the past comes back to bite you.
This is part of the lesson we see in “Okie”, the debut film by Kate Cobb, written by Kevin Bigley and that gets released on VOD this Friday, November 8th.
In this film we meet Louie Mulgrin, a successful writer that to his dismay needs to go back to the small decaying town he escaped from years ago, after his father passed away. This reluctance to stay in his former hometown more than he strictly needs is not so much because he has a deadline to meet with for a new novel, but because he knows that some ghosts from his past (both metaphorical and real) are bound to appear with unknown intentions.
Before you know it, Louie is reunited with his childhood friends Travis and Lainey (brought to life by Bigley and Cobb themselves), who then drag Louie into a series of parties and mischief that serve both as a trip through the memory lane and as an opportunity for him to apologize for using them as the basis of the characters on his works, where they are not necessarily portrayed in a good way…
That of course, if he were to admit any wrongdoing.
But that would be a very short story, wouldn’t it?
Ok, let me start by saying that this is NOT a horror film, but don’t let that stop you from checking it out when it comes out on VOD, because this is a very good, solid film.
I was very immersed in the story. Although the pacing is slow at times, I was entertained from beginning to end. The acting is very good and I had no trouble seeing the three main characters as childhood friends that after years of separation try to find a way to reconnect (on different levels and for different reasons). It was interesting to see how Lainey and Travis confront his friend regarding his books, and you can sense that there is more to this reunion than meets the eye.
I think that the less you know about the film, the better. The plot is very simple and never tries to be convoluted just for the sake of looking more clever than it is (and I loved that). You might know where the film is going, but even if you are right, you don’t know how the punch will be delivered and that’s where the charm is in “Okie”.
The movie could have gone off the rails just for the sake of being edgy, and it stayed in its lane. That is why I felt the ending is more than fitting and I was very satisfied with it.
(Still, I feel this could have been a great horror story…. Maybe in the future or in a sequel?)
Okie is directed by Kate Cobb, written by Kevin Bigley and has the talents of Scott Michael Foster, Kevin Bigley, Kate Cobb, Josef Bette and Dan J. Johnson in the cast.
Be sure to check this film on VOD on Friday, November 8th.